§ General Sir IVOR PHILIPPS (by Private Notice)asked the Minister of Munitions whether he can give any explanation as to the delay in introducing the Madsen machine-gun into the British Army; whether he is aware that for the last three years this machine-gun has been admitted by all machine-gun experts to be infinitely superior in every respect to the machine-guns now in use; and whether the only military expert who has opposed the introduction of the Madsen machine-guns is Major-General Sir William Furse, Master-General of the Ordnance; and whether, in view of the favourable reports again urging the adoption of the Madsen gun made this month by all the machine-gun experts of the London District, he will give orders to proceed immediately with the manufacture of this gun?
§ The MINISTER of MUNITIONS (Mr. Churchill)The question of the adoption of the Madsen gun was recently re-examined by the Army Council, who decided against adopting it. It was further re-examined last month by General Headquarters in France, who also decided against its adoption. The main reason in both cases was confidence in the Lewis gun, which alone can be supplied in the enormous numbers required. It is the function of the Ministry of Munitions to supply stores on the requisition of the Army Council.
§ Sir E. CARSONIs there a danger of this gun being handed over to the Germans?
§ Mr. CHURCHILLWell, Sir, I do not think they would have had much difficulty in acquiring it, had they so desired, in the early days of the War.
§ Sir I. PHILIPPSWhen the Army Council and the military authorities in France came to this decision, had they had full particulars of the recent examination of the improvements in this machine-gun, and were they aware of the favourable reports that had been come to in this country which induced my right hon. Friend the present Prime Minister to order 5,000 of them when he was Minister of Munitions, and, I believe, induced my right hon. Friend himself, when he was Secretary to the Admiralty, to order a large number for the Navy, none of which have yet been produced?
§ Mr. CHURCHILLYes, Sir. All those facts were before the Army Council and General Headquarters, and I am confident that every new circumstance and all the arguments which are now being used were thoroughly considered. As I say, the scale on which machine guns are now required to be produced, with the disadvantages of duality of types and duality of training, and with the excellent qualities of our existing Lewis gun, were the deciding factors in the conclusions which we reached.
§ Sir I. PHILIPPSCan the right hon. Gentleman tell me under whose authority the recent decision has been come to by the military authorities, and under whose authority the recent experiments were undertaken in the London district by all the military machine-gun experts in London?
§ Mr. CHURCHILLNo, Sir, I cannot. I know that in the last month that General Headquarters made a full re-examination of the gun.
§ Sir I. PHILIPPSWill the right hon. Gentleman call for the reports that have been submitted in the month of May—within the last fortnight or three weeks— on this machine gun?
§ Mr. CHURCHILLYes; I shall certainly call for the reports. But the question does not turn so much on the relative merits of the Lewis v. the Madsen gun as on the great question of the supply of scores of thousands of guns, and the family arising of our Army with it—the training of the troops in the use of the weapon.
§ Mr. G. FABERThat reason rather than the possible superiority of the Madsen gun?
§ Mr. CHURCHILLI am not at all sure that if we were starting absolutely from the beginning with a clear table, assisted by a wave of the wand, that there are not certain important points and advantages in the Madsen gun that we should not note. But we have a very good gun, and it is the only gun that can be made in enormous numbers.
§ Sir I. PHILIPPSIn view of the circumstances—
§ Mr. SPEAKERWe seem to be getting into a debate. Any further questions had better be put down.